Dance With Me
by Sammy7300
Summary: "Honestly, di Angelo, if you think it's your dancing skills I care about right now, then you are seriously missing the point." Will is insisting that Nico stay in the infirmary, even though he was supposed to leave two days ago. Why? And what happens when they're the only two awake one night and Will hears music drifting in from the campfire? Solangelo, obviously. One-shot.


**(A/N: Just a short Solangelo one-shot I wrote while procrastinating on NaNoWriMo. Inspired by the song "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon. Characters belong to Rick Riordan. Minor Blood of Olympus spoilers.)**

Nico was spending another night in the infirmary. He was supposed to have left two days ago, but Will was having none of it, insisting that Nico was fragile and about to collapse at any moment. Nico didn't have to be a doctor to know that he was just fine. Really, he should just leave. Even if Solace complained to Chiron about Nico leaving early, it would take the centaur one look to know Nico was all right. Still, something kept Nico there, night after night, day after day. He didn't want to think about what that was.

Will had been taking the night shift almost every night since the battle. The other healers thought he was just being a nice guy. Nico had other ideas, but he wouldn't voice them to a soul, living or dead. Sure, Will seemed to like him, but what if he was wrong? Will was nice to everyone. What made Nico think of himself as any different? He was getting too full of himself after the whole statue thing, probably. The son of the god of light could never fall for the son of death. Obviously.

Tonight was particularly quiet. The other patients, the ones with actual injuries, were all asleep, and as far as Will knew, so was Nico. Will worked in silence at the table at the back of the infirmary. He stood in a perfect patch of moonlight, his back facing Nico. Starlight bounced off his hair, sparkling gold every time he moved. Nico couldn't help but notice the way the muscles in his shoulders and back moved as he worked, drawn out in the shadows of the half-light. He noticed the way the tanned skin at the back of his neck and upper back pulled taut as he hunched over the table, measuring ambrosia or whatever exactly it was that healers did. Nico had far more experience with the death side of injuries than he did with healing them.

The sounds of the campfire wafted in the windows, muffled and impossible to make out. It had gotten progressively louder every night, as more campers recovered. Nico found he much preferred experiencing the campfire from this end of things, where he could listen to the sounds of people being happy without having to be a part of it. It seemed kind of sad when he thought about it that way, but he was perfectly content to just listen. There was no reason for someone like him to get tangled up with that many people. Nico stared up at the ceiling, listening to the muted singing of such classics as "My Uncle, the Minotaur" and "How I Lost My Leg (And All of My Other Body Parts)". It was peaceful. If he positioned himself just right, he could even see the stars shining down from above.

"You're awake." Nico startled, nearly rolling out of bed. "You're awake," Will repeated, "And if I'm not mistaken, you've been looking at my butt. I knew I shouldn't have put you in the cot directly behind me." He set down the tools in his hands and turned to face Nico, a grin plastered across his face.

"Am not," Nico said, sitting up on the bed and crossing his arms. It was only half a lie. He had been looking, just not that far down. "And how did you know I was awake?" he added.

Will shrugged. "It's not like I'm offended. We both know I have the best damn booty in this entire camp."

Nico shook his head, and smiled without meaning to.

"As for knowing you were awake, well..." he paused and ran his hand through his hair, "You've got a way with the dead. I've got a way with the living. So, you know, I know stuff like that." They were both silent for a moment, looking into each other's eyes for longer than Nico was comfortable with. Nico kept waiting for Will to look away, but he maintained eye contact until Nico couldn't stand it anymore. He looked down at his hands, pretending to fuss with the hem of his t-shirt. He didn't dare look up, but he heard the floorboards creaking as Will took a step closer. And another. And another. When Nico finally looked up, Will was standing inches away from him, holding out his hand.

"Dance with me," Will whispered, like it was something forbidden and sacred at the same time.

"You're crazy," Nico said. He was fairly certain that if he grabbed Will's hand, he wouldn't be able to let go for a long time. It terrified him.

"What? We've got music," Will said, gesturing to the reflection of the campfire in the window. "It may not be Beethoven exactly, but it's something." Nico almost pointed out that campfire songs were hardly ideal dancing songs, but he didn't. Instead, he just shook his head.

"We'll wake them up," Nico said, nodding to the other patients. Will rolled his eyes.

"Come on, di Angelo. They wouldn't wake up to an earthquake at this point." He kept his hand held out. "Don't make me look like a fool."

Nico shook his head again. "This is insane," he said.

"This is your last chance..." Will said, waving his arm for emphasis. Nico had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling like an idiot. This was a bad idea. Nico knew this was a bad idea, but he couldn't help it. He took Will's hand and stood up.

"This is so unbelievably stupid," he said, trying to mask just how nervous he was. Will pulled him to the center of the floor, where there weren't as many cots.

"Shut up and dance with me," Will said. Nico hadn't ever danced with anyone before, at least not for a very long time. He and Bianca used to dance when they were kids, but this was different. Very different. When he and Bianca had danced all those years ago, it had been two kids playing around. It didn't turn his stomach in knots like it did tonight.

Will twirled him around the floor, artfully dodging sleeping patients. Nico was not so graceful. He tripped over everything, and there were a few times he almost broke one of Will's toes. But it was...nice. More than nice. It was like nothing he'd ever felt before.

"Not bad for a son of Hades," Will whispered, dangerously close to Nico's ear. Nico's insides wrenched.

"I'm terrible," Nico insisted.

"Honestly, di Angelo, if you think it's your dancing skills I care about right now, then you are seriously missing the point." Nico wanted to believe he knew exactly what it was that Will cared about in that moment. He wanted to believe it was him.

The campfire ended and the last song faded into silence. They had waltzed their way back over to Nico's cot. Thankfully, Nico's calves were pressed into the bedframe, because he wasn't sure he could trust himself not to back up on instinct when Will took a step closer and tilted his head towards him.

Will whispered something Nico couldn't hear over the rushing of his heartbeat in his ears. The kiss ended almost before Nico had a chance to register that it was happening, but not before he had a chance to commit every detail to memory. Nico took note of the way he could feel the heat radiating off of Will's body. He remembered the texture of his lips, the way it sent chills up the back of his neck when Will placed his hand there. It was the first time they kissed, and Nico hoped to the gods it wouldn't be the last.


End file.
